CoCo Vandeweghe advances to main draw at Southern California Open

CoCo Vandeweghe, a 21-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe, beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine, 7-6 (3), 6-3, Monday to qualify for the main draw of the Southern California Open in Carlsbad.

Vandeweghe is ranked No. 199 in the world and has won only four WTA tournament main draw matches this season. Her biggest win came in Monterrey, Mexico, where she upset eventual Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli. Savchuk is ranked No. 180 in the world. In 2010 Vandeweghe reached the quarterfinals of this event as a qualifier.

Also, Alexandra Stephenson, who shot to the attention of the tennis world by reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 1999, becoming the first women’s qualifier to do so, withdrew from her final qualifying match Monday with a calf strain. After her stunning Wimbledon semifinal it was revealed that her father was basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving. Stephenson, 29, of La Jolla, has found little tennis success since 1999.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com